Letter: The SNP and Plaid Cymru must make clear their position on terrorism in the context of the Northern Ireland Troubles
A letter from Kenny Donaldson:
Our group – SEFF - has members from diverse backgrounds who hold different perspectives on the Union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland whether they're based in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland.
So we respect individual's personal perspectives around such issues.
However, when it comes to issues of victims/survivors, terrorism and the continued glorification of violence we question the judgment of the SNP and Plaid Cymru in striking up a separatist deal and movement with Sinn Fein.
These two parties were perhaps uniquely placed to insist that Sinn Fein would finally come up to the mark on these issues and to abandon its ideology of violence justification and glorification - that could and should be a red line for these parties ahead of such a merger of shared constitutional aims being formally progressed.
What about the hundreds of Scottish and Welsh citizens who were murdered and maimed by the actions of the Provisional IRA - where is the concern of either party for them? What message are they sending out to their supporters and target constituencies?
Is it a case of the ends justifying the means? If so, then they truly have adopted a mantra akin to those who would use violence as a means to further their political objectives.
SNP and Plaid Cymru leaders and representatives are never shy in front of a camera, let that also be the case where these issues are concerned.
We call upon these party leaderships to make clear their position on terrorism in the context of the Northern Ireland Troubles in the context of Sinn Féin's efforts to explain it away, as somehow being inevitable and unavoidable and also through the continued goading efforts of those seeking to glorify that violence, in all its forms.
Kenny Donaldson, SEFF director